ArticleOncotarget2015
Leptin stimulates migration and invasion and maintains cancer stem-like properties in ovarian cancer cells: an explanation for poor outcomes in obese women.
Article in Oncotarget, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 99 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on leptin's role in defining cancer: special emphasis on immunomodulation, inflammation, and therapeutic interventions.Genes and immunity · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Randomized trial of exercise on cancer-related blood biomarkers and survival in women with ovarian cancer.Cancer medicine · 2023Trial
- Celastrol at the obesity-cancer interface: critical appraisal of molecular mechanisms, preclinical evidence, and translational barriers.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Leptin Signaling at the Crossroads of Obesity, Immunity, and Cancer: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Implications.Biomolecules & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Article
- A positive feedback loop of OTUD1 and c-Jun driven by leptin expedites stemness maintenance in ovarian cancer.Oncogene · 2025Article
- Role of tumor microenvironment in ovarian cancer metastasis and clinical advancements.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- The Role of Perirenal Adipose Tissue in Carcinogenesis-From Molecular Mechanism to Therapeutic Perspectives.Cancers · 2025Review
- Ketosis suppression and ageing (KetoSAge): the effect of suppressing ketosis on SHBG and sex hormone profiles in healthy premenopausal women, and its implications for cancer risk and therapy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Research progress of ECT2 and RhoA-related signaling pathways in gynecological tumors.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Targeting the leptin receptor promotes MDA-MB-231 cells' metabolic reprogramming and malignancy: the role of extracellular vesicles derived from obese adipose tissue.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Combination of Blood Adiponectin and Leptin Levels Is a Predictor of Biochemical Recurrence in Prostate Cancer Invading the Surrounding Adipose Tissue.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Review
- Identification of PP1c-PPP1R12A Substrates Using Kinase-Catalyzed Biotinylation to Identify Phosphatase Substrates.ACS omega · 2023Article
- Leptin: A Heavyweight Player in Obesity-Related Cancers.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Review
- Obesity and endocrine-related cancer: The important role of IGF-1.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Effects of leptin on the viability of human ovarian cancer cells and changes in cytokine expression levels.PeerJ · 2023Article
- The impact of obesity and adipokines on breast and gynecologic malignancies.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2022Review
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The evidence linking obesity with ovarian cancer remains controversial. Leptin is expressed at higher levels in obese women and stimulates cell migration in other epithelial cancers. Here, we explored the clinical impact of overweight/obesity on patient prognosis and leptin's effects on the metastatic potential of ovarian cancer cells. We assessed clinical outcomes in 70 ovarian cancer patients (33 healthy weight and 37 overweight) that were validated with an external cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Progression-free and overall survival rates were significantly decreased in overweight patients. Similarly, a worse overall survival rate was found in TCGA patients expressing higher leptin/OB-Rb levels. We explored serum and ascites leptin levels and OB-Rb expression in our cohort. Serum and ascites leptin levels were higher in overweight patients experiencing worse survival. OB-Rb was more highly expressed in ascites and metastases than in primary tumors. Leptin exposure increased cancer cell migration/invasion through leptin-mediated activation of JAK/STAT3, PI3/AKT and RhoA/ROCK and promoted new lamellipodial, stress-fiber and focal adhesion formation. Leptin also contributed to the maintenance of stemness and the mesenchymal phenotype in ovarian cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate that leptin stimulated ovarian cancer cell migration and invasion, offering a potential explanation for the poor prognosis among obese women.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.